Biden Says Once He Defeats COVID-19, He Will Find The Cure For Cancer Next
Joe Biden is setting his sights on finding the cure for cancer — following up on a campaign promise he made last year.
On Friday, the Democratic president said ending cancer will be his next ‘big scientific endeavor’ once the coronavirus pandemic is over.
“I want you to know that once we beat COVID, we’re gonna do everything we can to end cancer as we know it,” Biden told a Michigan crowd after he made rounds of a Pfizer vaccine manufacturing plant there.
Biden Says U.S. Will Seek to ‘End Cancer as We Know It' After COVID Pandemic https://t.co/t4xxF4HyLj pic.twitter.com/pZvULt3Afw
— NBC Chicago (@nbcchicago) February 20, 2021
Biden was designated to lead former President Barack Obama’s “Cancer Moonshoot” program in 2016, aimed to double the rate of progress towards finding a cure for the disease — which is the second-leading cause of death in America behind heart disease.
“This is a case of life and death,” Biden said in his speech, as he drew parallels between fighting the COVID-19 crisis and taking on cancer. “We’re talking about people’s lives.”
Biden went on to say that Eric Lander, his nominee for Presidential Science Advisor and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, will help bring together the country’s top minds to advance cancer research, among others.
“This administration is going to be guided by science to save lives and to make life better,” Biden said.
On ending the coronavirus pandemic, however, the Democratic president said “he doesn’t know” when.
“I can’t give you a date when this crisis will end but I can tell you we are doing everything possible to have that day come sooner rather than later.”
Biden’s campaign promise include cure for cancer
Biden first made the promise to “cure cancer” last year when he spoke in a campaign rally in Ottumwa, Iowa where he told voters that he will see through one of the greatest inventions in modern America once he is president, also possibly ending the killer disease that have caused the death of at least 9.6 million people worldwide as of 2017.
“I’ve worked so hard in my career, that I promise you, if I’m elected president you’re gonna see the single most important thing that changes America — we’re going to cure cancer,” Biden said then.
Meanwhile, as Biden spoke of his grand plans, Breitbart News’ senior-editor-at-large, Joel Pollak slammed him with a previous report showing how his cancer charity spent most of the contributions it collected on salaries instead of cancer research as it was intended.
“The @pfizer guy just claimed that @JoeBiden‘s work on cancer research since his son’s death “has made a real impact.” The Biden Cancer Initiative spent almost all its donors’ money on staff salaries before shuttering,” Pollak wrote on Twitter.
The @pfizer guy just claimed that @JoeBiden's work on cancer research since his son's death "has made a real impact." The Biden Cancer Initiative spent almost all its donors' money on staff salaries before shuttering. https://t.co/TsPEnBNiFx
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) February 19, 2021
The New York Post earlier reported that based on tax filings, Biden’s charity “spent millions on salaries [and] zero on research.”
“The Biden Cancer Initiative was founded in 2017 by the former vice president and his wife Jill Biden to ‘develop and drive implementation of solutions to accelerate progress in cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, research and care and to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes,’” the publication said citing the initiative’s IRS mission statement.
It noted, however, that it “gave out no grants in its first two years, and spent millions on the salaries of former Washington DC aides it hired.”
The Biden Cancer Initiative reportedly gathered US$4.8 million in contributions from 2017-2018. It spent a staggering US$3.1 million just on salaries in those two years.
Under “grants distributed,” however, the Biden Cancer Initiative listed “zero” which meant no amount was spent for cancer research purposes.
The Biden Cancer Initiative was put in place to continue the work of the Obama-led Cancer Moonshot Task force which Biden led shortly after the death of his son, Beau Biden from brain cancer. The charity shuttered its operations after Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, stepped down to prepare for the former VP’s presidential bid.
